Curious about Masks: A New Generation? You should be, because
it's a heckin' good game! For the most in-depth look, we recommend
listening to our potluck
episode of the podcast, but if you're looking for more of a
super-speedy rundown, here it is!

Masks, like most Powered by the Apocalypse games, is fairly
mechanics-light and is great for players who are most invested in
the roleplaying and storytelling. If you're new to tabletop games,
this is a great jumping-on point. You have a limited stable of
stats and moves which are streamlined and easy to keep track
of.

If you love superhero fiction, especially when it comes to teen
heroes, you're going to adore Masks. In between the action
and suspense, the system guides you to create
some beautiful coming of age stories. Flavorfully it has
shades of Teen Titans, Young Justice, Young Avengers, et cetera.
But hey, even if superheroes aren't usually your jam, Masks still
might have something that grabs you; some of our team members
actually don't like comics very much, but they adore Masks because
you can bring as much levity and humanity to it as you want.

Masks uses the classic PBTA mechanic of having failures be
fun, which is a great plus to storytelling. In this case they have
the concept of "potential", where the only way you can level up and
grow as a hero is when you fail your rolls. Failures end up being
just as narratively interesting as successes, not to mention how
fun it is to have the bittersweet "mixed" successes.

Even with a stellar game like Masks, there's bound to be some
elements that don't gel as well with everyone. One frustration is
that while the potential system is fun, if luck has it that you're
consistently rolling high then you won't level up as consistently
as your teammates, and if you keep rolling low, you might find
yourself with new swag that you don't feel like you've earned yet.
Also some of the actions you'll want to take don't neatly line up
with any of the predetermined moves, which means it's up to the GM
to make up a custom move in the spur of the moment and figure out
how that translates mechanically.

If you're interested in GMing Masks, know that you'll have to be
extremely flexible and quick on the uptake, but the book is on your
side and helpfully outlines all the resources you'll need. Because
there's no defined turn order or rounds, PCs can essentially go
whenever they want, and so it's on the GM to ensure that everyone's
working together and everyone has a fair shot.

Character creation is explicitly itemized, but you get a
surprising amount of creative license for just circling attribute
options. Certain playbooks will restrict you to certain
superpowers, but it's up to you to interpret what that entails.
Creating a team also means figuring out your characters'
relationships with each other and with the world before you've even
started the game, which helps to kickstart camaraderie and
motivations.

The podcast episode ends with us playing out the end-of-session
roundup where everyone reflects on how their character has changed,
and adjusts their stats accordingly, so give that a listen if you
want to see how that works. And if you want a closer look at how we
created our characters and their relationships, we have a new bonus
episode on our Patreon outlining
just that!

Let's just say it, we love Masks: A New Generation to little
shiny pieces, and we resoundingly recommend it. If you'd like to
see more of this story and these characters, let us know, because
we'd love to play some more! To play Masks for yourself, get a
hardcover copy, paperback copy, or a PDF from http://www.magpiegames.com/shop/.,
and enjoy!

About the Podcast

Welcome to Tabletop Potluck, an actual play podcast showcasing and discussing the wide world of pen and paper roleplaying games. Whether you're an experienced player or a newbie, you’re welcome to sit at our table and see what we’ve brought to the potluck!